Operate Android Mirror Projection

Using scrcpy is one of the best ways to mirror and control your Android phone on Linux/Windows. This guide will walk you through the steps to set up and troubleshoot scrcpy to get your phone connected and working perfectly.

Enable USB Debugging

  1. On your Android phone, go to Settings > About phone.
  2. Tap Build number 7 times to enable Developer Options.
  3. Go back to Settings > System > Developer options.
  4. Find and enable USB debugging.
  5. Try connect adb or scrcpy
  6. press Authentication on phone
  7. connect again

On Windows

Remember Enable USB Debugging first.

Just download from Download — SCRCPY (Screen Copy)

and unzip -> Enable USB Debugging -> run scrcpy.exe

On Linux

Remember Enable USB Debugging first.

Step 1: Install scrcpy

First, install scrcpy on your Linux system. It’s available in most distributions’ package managers.

Ubuntu or Debian-based distributions:

sudo apt install scrcpy

Arch-based distributions:

sudo pacman -S scrcpy

For other distributions, refer to the official scrcpy GitHub page for installation instructions.

Step 2: Run scrcpy

Add user to plugdev group

sudo usermod -aG plugdev $USER

After enabling USB debugging, connect your phone to your Linux system with a USB cable. Then, try running:

scrcpy

If everything is set up correctly, you should see your phone screen appear on your desktop. However, if scrcpy fails, you may encounter an error like this:

scrcpy 1.21 <https://github.com/Genymobile/scrcpy>
* daemon not running; starting now at tcp:5037
* daemon started successfully
error: insufficient permissions for device: user in plugdev group; are your udev rules wrong?
See [http://developer.android.com/tools/device.html] for more information
ERROR: "adb get-serialno" returned with value 1
ERROR: Could not get device serial
ERROR: Server connection failed

This indicates a permissions issue with your device. The next steps will walk you through debugging and fixing this issue.

Step 3: Test ADB Connection

Start by testing the ADB connection to identify the issue. Run:

adb devices

You might see an error like this:

List of devices attached
N7AIB700D379BYD    no permissions (user in plugdev group; are your udev rules wrong?)

This error confirms the problem is related to insufficient permissions for your device.

Step 4: Identify Your Device

To fix the permissions, you need to identify your device using:

lsusb

Example output:

Bus 001 Device 004: ID 0b05:7770 ASUSTek Computer, Inc. Zenfone 9

Here, ID 0b05:7770 shows the idVendor (0b05) and idProduct (7770) values for your device. You’ll use these values to create a custom udev rule.

Step 5: Add Udev Rules

Udev rules help Linux manage USB device permissions. Follow these steps:

  1. Create a new udev rules file: 
    sudo nano /etc/udev/rules.d/51-android.rules
  2. Add the following rule for your device. Adjust it based on the idVendor and idProduct values you found with lsusb: 
    SUBSYSTEM=="usb", ATTR{idVendor}=="0b05", ATTR{idProduct}=="7770", MODE="0666", GROUP="plugdev"

    This example is for an ASUS Zenfone 9. Replace 0b05 and 7770 with the values specific to your phone.

  3. Save the file and apply the correct permissions: 
    sudo chmod a+r /etc/udev/rules.d/51-android.rules
  4. Reload the udev rules: 
    sudo udevadm control --reload-rules
sudo udevadm trigger

Step 6: Authorize USB Debugging

  1. Disconnect and reconnect your phone.
  2. Run: 
    adb devices

    If your device shows up as unauthorized, check your phone’s screen for a prompt to allow USB debugging. Select Allow and, optionally, check Always allow from this computer.

  3. Run adb devices again. You should now see: 
    List of devices attached
N7AIB700D379BYD    device

Step 7: Start scrcpy

With your device recognized and authorized, you can now successfully start scrcpy:

scrcpy

Your Android screen should appear on your Linux desktop, and you can control your phone directly from your computer.